Experimental Investigation Into Thermal Stratification by Direct Condensation in a Scaled Suppression Pool of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Experimental and numerical studies into thermal stratification by direct steam condensation in a torus type suppression pool were carried out to investigate the reactor core isolation cooling in the accidents of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants. The suppression pool was manufactured to be a 1/22 scaled model of a Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Two different types of spargers were employed to simulate different units of the plants. In a sparger, 132 holes were uniformly drilled on the side of a pipe. However, the other sparger injected steam to the bottom. Flow rate was varied in a wide range to examine the effect on thermal stratification in the suppression pool. The experimental results showed that the sparger type influenced formation of thermal stratification. Moreover, steam flow rate strongly affected the onset time of thermal stratification, and the disappearance of the thermal stratification was affected by subcooling temperature. Computer simulation using a commercial software was conducted and the results show similar temperature profiles to the experimental results. Steam condensation was visualized in a vicinity of the spargers using high speed camera.